Henk van de Bovenkamp

Henk van de Bovenkamp, PhD at the University of Groningen
working on CatchBio project:
From Lignocellulosic biomass to bulk chemicals; development of efficient catalytic routes to 5-HMF and derivatives
project leader:
prof. dr. ir. H.J. Heeres
cluster: Energy-Bulk

Short CV
After graduating in chemical engineering at the University of Groningen, I worked on several biofuel related projects before starting the PhD. Most notably the realization of a car running on pure aminal fat which we ran for 15.000 km in 3 months without problems.

Please describe your project?
Utilizing biomass to substitute pertroleum oil as raw material for the production of base chemicals. C6 sugars are a promising biomass source for the production of 5-hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF). HMF and its ether and ester derivatives have been proposed as a very attractive green platform chemical from biomass. They are accessible by the acid catalysed hydrolosis of the C6 sugars of biomass at relatively mild conditions. A novel biphasic process for the efficient production of HMF and its derivatives is being investigated.

What is the biggest challenge, or what fascinates you the most about this project?
The biggest challenge sofar is the production of very pure reaction products on a 25 gram plus scale to investigate their physical properties.

What is your future career ambition?
To stay involved with biorefinery research.

How do you like to spend your time when not working on your research?
Motorcycling.